Nestled among the vintage globes, surgical drawings and reflecting telescopes at Bonhams New York’s upcoming “History of Science” auction are spectacular several Apple-related goodies.
Most impressive of all of these is an Apple 1 motherboard, circa 1976. Described as being in “superb overall condition,” this is the first computer ever built by Steve Wozniak under the Apple banner, prior to the far more successful and mainstream Apple II.
Only 200 units of the Apple I were ever made, although just 63 are thought to still survive — and only 15 of these are documented as having worked since 2000.
This is one of them.
Making this Apple I of extra special significance is the fact that its first owner was John Barkley Anderson, one of the prototypical Apple evangelists who not only published an early Apple fanzine, but also organized some of the first Apple fan conventions.
Because of this, the Apple I comes packaged with 3 issues of Anderson’s “Poke Apple” newsletter from 1979-1984, including the first ever issue and a February 1984 edition dedicated to the Macintosh.
These are also programs from the first two “Apple-Ventions” (which took place October 1979 and 1980), alongside a pair of VHS tapes documenting the 1980 event, which includes a speech made by Steve Wozniak who appeared as the keynote speaker.
This whole drool-worthy package is expected to reach between $300,000 and $500,000.
Another lot meanwhile offers an original European headquarters flag, circa 1996. If you’re not up for splashing half a mill on an old computer, this might be a safer bet — with an estimated value of “just” $1,500 to $2,500.
The whole lot of 288 items will go under the hammer on 22 Oct 2014, starting at 13:00 EDT.
Via: Wired
